Pyrophoric lighter and fuel supply therefor



2 Sheets-Sheet l J. M. FINCH, JR

PYROPHORIC LIGHTER AND FUEL SUPPLY THEREFOR May 9, 1950 Filed Nov. 25, 1948 May 9, i950 J. M. FlNcH, JR 2,507,202

PYROPHORIC LIGHTER AND FUEL SUPPLY THEREFOR Filed Nov. 25, 1948 2 sheets-sheet 2 "1n/veniva ATTORNEY Patented May 9, 1950 UNITED s'rArEsu rA'reNr oFrrCE PYRQPHORIC LIGHTER AND FUELSUPPLY THEREFOR .l ames MiFinchg'Jr., Maysville, Ky;

ApplicationNovemben 23, 19.43,- Serial No.V 615669 The present inventionrrelates.. to -pyrophoric lightersif or .cigarettes and ..the.like..

The .principal object OftheinVentionisto pro. Videsuch ,a lighter with' a..fuel .reservoir of 'exceedinglyhigh capacity so,that.thelighter mayM 'Dev `operated .over anextraordinarily long ,yperiod' ottime beforeithe. fuel .supply needs replenishing...

Arelated object is.to...provide,alighterin which thelquanti-tyof fuel in tnereservoir. can .be read-` ily ,ascertained anytime Vsoasv to-avoid ,the possibility of thesupplybecoming.unexpectedly eX- hausted..`

Other Objectsare to .provide a, lighter, of the. type indicated. in .which .the ,replenishingv oi iuel is -fmade afvery simple, .quick and..easy,operation involvingethe use oiparts and J.combinations of partsy which .are ,inexpensive to .make andY .will be durable.y and foolproof .in .use

Other ,and further vobjects-.ofthe invention will, i

it is.,believed, `be. sufficiently evident to those skilled .in- ,the .art from .theillustrations and dee scription forming part of thisapplication for LettersPatent disclosing certainpreferredembodi.-

ments ofthe-invention .which ,have beenreduced.

to practicefandiound to.. give. completeV satisfac. tion.-

y These.preferredembodiments are illustrated in.

the.accompanyingtdrawings,. in which Figure 1 isa Siderelevationalviewofa come plete lighterslioivingin.broken.lines therpvosi.-

. tions of the cap andoperatinglever when these partshave-been moved` to lighting position;

Fig.. 2. is, a` generally longitudinal sectional .view taken insubstantiallytne median plane of the longer dimension of the.casing;

ligi 3 is aside elevational view on a relatively enlargedscaleof one form of fuel reservoir;

Fig.x ,4 is a longitudinal sectional .View taken .on the line -t of Fig. 3;

Fig,..5is a top,.plan.of the reservoir shown .in l

Figs... 3-.and..4;

Eig.. Gris. alsideelevational View, vpartly/broken awayi showing amodied form of fuel. reservoir F-ig..7,is a .longitudinal sectional view taken on the'. lined-1 ofFig. 6;

Fig.,8.,is a detailseetlonal viewtakenthrough--. the lighter shown-.in Fig.. .2..sl1owing4 the 1;,c1s1`t-i'1icnv ofv..thetop ofthe. reservoir afterlit hasbeenipar.: tially withdrawn. from.I the lightericasing Fig. 9..isa similar iviewrshowingthe positionof the. top of Atl'ie` reservoir after it .hasbeenspushed tn fully.inserted` positionin the case;

Fig., 10 is a detail.,toplongitudinal,sectional view.,

of ,al still-.further ,modiiled.formant` reservoir;

3`Clims. (Cl. 67-7.1)

lll

ill)

nig. 11 fis-...arionenudinai vseci-,101erView. ofthe. 55.y

lighter capv and someofthe parts,carriedgbyniti..V Fig. 12 is atop planA view of thestrikingwheell and the parts carriedby, it;

Fig. 13 is a side elevational View, on a relatively` enlarged scale, ofthe strikingwheeland ratchet.'

wheel;

Fig. 14 is a. diametrical sectional view of the; striking and ratchet wheels, taken on the line;

lil-ifi of Fig. 13;V and 15 is a perspective, view., on a relatii'felyy enlarged scale, lof the operating plate which ls carried inthe cap.

Generally speaking, the invention comprisesa'. lighter casing havingan. internal chamber` the uppenportiononlyof which contains a quantity-y oi the usual wedding for holding liquidh fuel by" absorption, and the..lower portion ofvwhich' ree oeives a cartridge type `of -lreservoir from whichw liquid. fuel may, whenever needed; be discharged@l to the wadding soas'to soak'the same-and^be^ transferred to the vwicklwhicliis embedded in the wadding.- In addition to the novelty of this geneeral` Vtypeof arrangement, the present invention` is new inprovidingu means for initially opening" y the cartridge to vpermit it to be discharged 'andi for vsubsequentlyY sealing it after discharge.; Anoptonal feature `of novelty resides in thestruc'-v ture of the cartridge by which the quantity-off its liquid fuel contents'can be observed latany`t` While the general structureof the'lighterfbyg' which itis operated to strike a` spark forms fno part of the invention which is the claimed subi ject of this application; I'have shownv the inVerr-hf tion embodiedv ina lighter of the type 'disclosed y 'and claimed in my co-pendingappli'cation Serial"` No. 61,670, iiled November 23, 1948;" To complete the expianation ofthe present inventionsome of-4T tne features of the operating structuref and* imechanism, flint supply, etc., willv be referredto;

but it is to be understoodthat the parts con#L stituting the present invention, which relates tof-l the fuel supply, may be incorporated rin other and-'f different typesof lighters.

ferrer?. form of constructionV comprisesla main cas Y ing made in the form of a generally box-Alikeh'orus-7V ing I having'iront and 'side'. walls and having an opening l2 at itsbottom and an open topand rearr The lower portionsroi the side wall'sare'provided* with rearwardlyprojecting ears journalinga'l pintle :i which mounts the .side Walls of a suppleeY mental casingliavinga rear wall and a .bottoniy Wall., The side walls of the .supplemental casing overlap the,rear margi ns;oi'the side walls of the main casing I, and the pintle 4 pivots the supplemental casing for rocking movement as a lever to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 1. A leaf spring B is soldered to the inside surface of the rear wall of the supplemental housing and bears against a plate 'I disposed against a flint tube 8 in the rear of the main casing I so as normally to maintain the supplemental casing in general parallelism with the main casing, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. upper portion 9 of the plate completes the closure of the main casing.

A cap IU is pivoted by a pintle II to the upper portion of each of the side walls of the main casing I and has a pair of outstanding short trunnions I 2 which are engaged in short arcuate slots I3 formed in the side walls'of the supplemental casing 5 so that, when the two casings are squeezed together by pressure on their upper portions and the supplemental casing is rocked to its broken line position of Fig. 1, the trunnions will be cammed from the upper end of the slot to the lower end thereof to swing the cap from closed to open position, all as shown in Fig. l. During this movement the spring 6 becomes tensioned to restore the supplemental casing and the cap to their full line positions of Fig. 1 upon release of the pressure or squeezing force.

A flint I4 is pressed upwardly in the flint tube 8 by the usual coil spring (not shown) against a striking Wheel I5 having a serrated periphery for rubbing the flint so as to throw sparks therefrom. A plate I6 is xed in the cap ID and has an inturned prong I 'I which makes engagement with the radial edges of the inclined teeth I3 of a ratchet wheel I9 secured to a side of the striking wheel I5, or made integrally with it, as suggested in Fig. 14. As shown, these teeth are four in number, and the movement of the cap I!! is somewhat in excess of 90, so that each time the cap swings to its open position the prong I1 will be sure to engage one of the teeth I8 and rotate the striking wheel I5 through approximately 90, which is suicient to throw adequate sparks from the iiint to ignite the wick which will now be described along with the arrangement for keeping the wick impregnated with fuel. When the cap moves to closed position the prong slips ratchet-wise along the inclined side face of the tooth next adjacent, in a counterclockwise direction, to the previously engaged tooth, and finally the prong slips axially in front of said next tooth, ready for a repetition of the operation.

The main casing I has an internal chamber bounded by the front and side walls of the casing and closed at its top and upper rear portions by a partition member 20. This partition member includes a top wall having an opening through which a wick 2I extends with the bulk of the wick embedded in a relatively small quantity of wadding 22 which fills the upper portion only of the internal chamber. The bottom of the partition member is open so that the undersurface of the small quantity of Wadding 22 is uncovered and open to the lower and larger portion of the internal chamber.

It is into this lower part of the chamber that the fuel reservoir cartridge provided by the pres- `ent invention is insertible through the bottom opening 2 of the main casinar I. The cartridge, which the invention contemplates providing in any of several different forms, is intended to contain liquid fuel, without any wadding, so that its fuel capacity is considerably greater, per unit of volume. than the fuel capacity of the wedding An offset i hole and seals the cartridge.

22 or of any chamber in any conventional type of lighter which is filled with wadding.

The preferred form of cartridge, shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5, comprises a generally box-like container 23, rectangular in cross-section, adapted to fit snugly and be frictionally held in the lower part of the chamber of the main casing I, with the bottom of the cartridge closing the opening 2 through which it was inserted. The top wall 24 of the cartridge may be provided with a closure plug 25, screw-threaded in place and removable for filling the cartridge with liquid fuel. A portion at least of this top wall 24 is best made of some soft metal, such as a lead or antimony alloy,

I or it may be made of a suitable plastic composition, so as to be permeable by a pointed pin 2S which, in the preferred embodiment of the invention, fixedly depends from a small channelshaped bracket 2'I projecting into the chamber from the rear wall of the partition member 20.

The pin 25 extends down into the lower portion of the chamber, below the upper portion which contains the wadding 22. The arrangement is such that when the cartridge is pushed to its limit up into the chamber the pin will puncture the lupper wall 24 of the cartridge, as shown in Fig. 2. In this position the pin seals the hole which it has punctured in the cartridge, but this hole can be uncovered by pulling the cartridge from the chamber sufficiently to withdraw it from the pin. With the parts in such position the entire lighter can be inverted and, if necessary, it can be shaken a few times or the projecting portion of the cartridge can be squeezed, so as to discharge some of the liquid fuel onto the wadding 22 until the wadding is sufficiently saturated to supply the wick 2 I. The cartridge is then pushed into the chamber to fully seated position, in which the pin fills the The operation is of course repeated whenever the wadding appears to need more fuel.

The cartridge of Figs. 3, 4 and 5 is rellable through the opening which is closed by the plug 25. Its walls may be made of metal, with a pair of side windows 23 which may be made visible through openings 29 formed in the lower side walls of the main casing I. Thus the amount of fuel in the cartridge is at all times observable, and the cartridge can be refilled before the fuel supply becomes exhausted.

The cartridge shown in Figs. 6 and '7 is made entirely oi a transparent plastic composition and is intended not to be reused but to be discarded and replaced when empty. Its top wall may be thickened at one side, as shown at 29, to increase its strength and provide support for a relatively soft plug 3Q which will be easily punctured by the-pin 26.

The cartridge shown in Fig. 10 may be made in the same way as those of Fig. 3 or Fig. 6, but this cartridge carries its Din SI and is intended to be used in a chamber which is not provided with a pin 2E. In use. the cartridge of Fig. 10 is fully withdrawn from the chamber, the pin 3| is removed, and the cartridge is squeezed a few times, in the manner in which an oil can is used, to squirt a charge of fuel onto the wadding 22, whereupon the pin 3| is replaced and the cartridge is re-inserted into the chamber.

A number of details of the construction are optional and have no important bearing on the general principles of the invention. However, they are useful in themselves and I prefer to incorporate them in the structure. Thus, the car- 5 tridge, in whatever form it may be made, frictionally fits in the internal chamber and its penetration into the chamber is limited by a narrow base flange 32 Which engages and trims the bottom edges of the main casing I which denne the opening 2.

The top Wall of the partition member 20 may be disposed at the level or the main casing top, but I prefer to arrange this top wall somewhat below that level and to provide air inlet openings 33 in one or both of the main casing side Walls, so that the lighter is of the so-called windproof type.

The cap I0 in this case is best provided with a snuffei` cup 34 for extinguishing the flame promptly upon the cap snapping to closed position.

It will be appreciated that the parts are all simple and easily made and are arranged for ready assembly and easy soldering, welding or other mode of securing them permanently in position.

It will be recognized also that many details of the several preferred forms of construction which have been described can be modified or eliminated, since not all of such details are essential to the invention. rIhe principles of the invention are dened by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. lIhe combination of a pyrophoric lighter comprising a casing having in its upper portion a Wick and a quantity of wadding and having in its lower portion a chamber of substantially rectangular cross-section open at its bottom and having an opening in its side Wall, a pointed pin xed in the casing and projecting down into the chamber, and a replaceable liquid fuel cartridge snugly ntting the chamber and insertible into it by rectilinear sliding movement through said open bottom, said cartridge comprising a generally box-like container having a liquid fuel ll completely sealed therein and including a closed top wall which is permeable by said pin and having a transparent side Wall, whereby the top wall may be punctured and sealed by said pin when the cartridge is seated in the chamber and the hole thus formed may be opened for discharge of liquid fuel onto said wadding when the cartridge is partially withdrawn from the chamber and whereby the liquid iill may be seen through the transparent side wall or the cartridge and the opening in the side wall of the chamber when the cartridge is seated in the chamber.

2. A pyrophoric lighter as claimed in claim 1 in which the pin is positioned asymmetrically with relation to the cross-sectional shape of the chamber and in which the permeable part of the top wall is located at one end portion of the top of the cartridge.

3 A pyrophoric lighter as claimed in claim 1 in which the pin is positioned asymmetrically with relation to the cross-sectional shape of the chamber and in which the permeable part of the top wall is located at one end portion of the top of the cartridge and a removable closure plug is provided in the opposite end portion of the top of the cartridge.

JAMES M. FINCH, Jn.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,911,936 Armstrong May 30, 1933 1,961,577 Aronson June 5, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 10,826 Great Britain 1912 313,927 Germany June 28, 1919 317,016 Germany Dec. 10, 1919 603,504 Great Britain June 17, 1948 

